Articles Posted in Zoning and Land Use Law

The determination by the local building inspector that a 1928 “subdivision” did not create two lots was upheld by the Appellate Division. In Steven Silverberg

An appellate court reversed a lower court decision dismissing, for lack of standing, a challenge brought by a nearby property owner to a development over 1,000 feet from his property. In Matter of Ontario Heights Homeowners Association v. Town of Oswego Planning Board, the Appellate Division Fourth Department held that…

In a 206 page decision, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found the Town of Greenburgh had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) when it refused to grant a church permission to build a new building, for what the court termed…

The Appellate Division upheld two lower court decisions which dismissed challenges to the SEQRA findings, site plan and subdivision approval for a shopping center in the Town of Newburgh. In Matter of Save Open Space v. Planning Bd. Of the Town of Newburgh the court noted judicial review is limited…

The Court of Appeals ruled today that owners of a landfill had a vested right to use all 50 acres of their property as a landfill, even though they had only used 3 acres before more restrictive zoning was implemented. In Matter of Jones v Town of Carroll the court…

The District Court ruled in Withers v. The Village of Airmont

Last week the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found a RLUIPA violation based upon a denial of a special permit to expand a church. In Rocky Mountain Christian Church v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County Colorado the Circuit Court overturned the denial of a special permit application to…

The appellate division found that a zoning board properly denied an area variance after engaging in the required balancing test. In Matter of Monroe Beach Inc. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of City of Long Beach the court determined that the zoning board had made findings that: “the requested variances…

An attempt to circumvent planning board approval of a subdivision using a subdivision map filed in the county clerk’s office 1928 was rejected by the Appellate Division. In Matter of Atlantic Development LLC v. Town/Village of Harrison the court found that a 1923 provision of the local town code, still…

An appellate court reiterated the requirement that every precondition to granting a special permit must be met before a zoning board is required to grant such a permit. In Navaretta v Town of Oyster Bay, the Appellate Division Second Department upheld the denial of a special permit by an attorney…